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3 Things to Expect From Apple in 2014

With 2014 around the corner, what can Apple investors expect from the company?

So far, Apple(NASDAQ:AAPL) has had a rather lackluster year with a gain of 5% year to date. Compared to the S&P 500's gain of nearly 30%, Apple has underachieved in 2013.

However, the market is a forward-looking mechanism. Apple investors should look for three moves from the company in 2014:

Apple's recently inked deal with NTT DoCoMo and the pending China Mobile deal opens Apple up to Asia Pacific in a big way. NTT DoCoMo has over 60 million subscribers and China Mobile has an astonishing 750 million subscribers. Apple investors should look for increased iPhone sales as a result of these new deals.

Second, with Carl Icahn abandoning his $150 billion buyback demands for a more modest $50 billion total, look for Tim Cook to increase the size of Apple's buyback in 2014.

Finally, look for Apple to possibly introduce a new product category -- a phablet, TV set, or smart watch are possible new products to be on the lookout for in 2014.

Author

Inspired by the idea of "making your money work for you" at a young age, mostly because he was a lazy child, Jamal parlayed that inspiration into a love of the psychology of markets, competitive advantages, and thematic investing. He later shrug off that laziness, with a career that included stints as a mortgage trainer, a financial advisor, a Sr. Investments Communications Specialist, and a stockbroker. Jamal graduated from George Mason University with a bachelors of science in finance, American University with a masters in finance, and is a CFA charterholder.